July 4 Celebration: Maine Man Attempts To Launch Firework On His Head, Dies Instantly

A 22-year-old Maine man tried to set firework off the top of his head and killed himself on the spot during the Fourth of July weekend celebration, police said Sunday. The man was drinking and celebrating the Independence Day Saturday night with his friends at the time of the incident, according to the authorities.

Devon Staples of Calais, Washington County, placed the fireworks mortar tube on his head around 10 p.m. and told his friends he was going to light it, Stephen McCausland, a spokesman for the State Department of Public Safety reportedly said.

"Apparently, he thought that was a great idea," McCausland said, according to the Associated Press. "His friends they thought dissuaded him from doing it, and the next thing they knew, he ignited the fireworks and he was killed instantly."

Cody Staples, the 25-year-old brother of the deceased, told New York Daily News that he was only a few feet away when the firework exploded killing his brother. "I was the first one who got there. There was no rushing him to the hospital. There was no Devon left when I got there."

"Devon was not the kind of person who would do something stupid. He was the kind of person who would pretend to do something stupid to make people laugh," Cody reportedly said.

According to the authorities, Devon’s death is reportedly the first in Maine since the state legalized fireworks on Jan. 1, 2012, repealing a 1949 ban. The state had voted to legalize fireworks with an aim to generate revenue and create jobs, the Examiner reported.